Ganked from zamiel:



...and ganked from distractogirl:



To be honest, given the options I'm not overly surprised by the outcome. Perhaps I would have liked to have scored higher as Batman on the heroes (though having a sense of humour is a failing that way), but to have the top three villains being my favourite three then I can't really grumble. I'm now stuck trying to think how a Joker-esque Doctor Doom would fare against heroes.

Tracking through the quirkies of Ananova led me to some great information. Comic books may be fiction, but just like the technology from Star Trek is becoming apparent today, so the borders between the multiverse are comin' a-crashing down.

Mole Man banned from home

An eccentric known as The Mole Man has been banned from his home after digging a 60ft network of tunnels beneath it.

William Lyttle, 75, spent 40 years burrowing under his 20-room house, removing 100 cubic metres of earth with a spade and pulleys.

It is now feared the street could give way, reports the Daily Mirror.

Philip Wilman, a surveyor for Hackney Council, told Thames magistrates: "There has been movement in the ground. He's fortunate a London bus is not in his front garden. It's liable to lead to catastrophe."

Ex-electrical engineer Lyttle is staying in a £25-a-night hotel, paid for by the council, after an injunction under the London Building Act which allows the £100,000 repairs to be done.

Work at the house in De Beauvoir, East London, could include flooding the tunnels - big enough to stand up in and dropping to a depth of eight metres -with cement.

(Source: Ananova, 01 August 2006)

So, the nefarious Mole Man, foe to the Fantastic Four, has merged in to our world in the guise of a London pensioner. I always knew those old guys were tricky devils. Seriously, doesn't this just yell out "Hey, you kids, gerroff my lawn!" :

But where have all good men gone and where are all the gods? Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds? Isn't there a...oh, um...

Apparently, there was an attempt of crossover by Johnny Storm into his 'real world' counterpart, but it just seemed an unfortunate mishap:

Man uses petrol as cleaner

A man blew up his house as he washed his kitchen floor with a cleaning fluid mixed with petrol.

The fumes were ignited by the boiler in his living room.

The blast blew out the bay window and wrecked ceilings and walls in Ron Cox's home.

Ron had been using Cillit Bang to get glue off his kitchen floor tiles. But he found it such hard work he thought petrol would help.

Ron was still scrubbing as the fumes wafted through and exploded as they came into contact with the pilot light on the gas boiler.

According to The Sun he said: "I didn't realise what had happened at first. I couldn't believe the damage. It was just a cupful. Lucky I was in the kitchen and no one else was in the house."

He has now moved out of the house in Scunthorpe, Lincs, while it is repaired.

Neighbour Dave Micheson said: "We heard an almighty bang. I rushed round and found Ron shocked but unhurt."

Dave put out a fire in the lounge and dialled 999.

Humberside fire chief Stuart Spence said: "Ron is very lucky. Nobody should ever try to use petrol as a cleaner."

(Source: Ananova, 01 August 2006)

Clit Bang went Boom!

I guess as far as superheroics go, we'll have to rely on technology, luckily we should be able to start our own Way Too Many Clones To Make Sense Of superhero story with a generation of Spidermen Geckomen!

Spiderman suit breakthrough

Soldiers of the future could use special "Spiderman" suits to walk up sheer surfaces and even stick to the ceiling.

BAE Systems has developed a material that closely mimics the feet of a gecko lizard, which can scale vertical glass.

The research is still at an early stage but the firm said "infantry climbing suits" could be made out of the material, giving the troops gecko-like abilities.

A "government organisation" is also interested in using the material for a "particular covert application" connected to surveillance, according to a BAE Systems spokesman.

The gecko's foot is covered with tiny hairs, which are so small they effectively merge with molecules of things that they touch.

Dr Jeff Sargent, a research physicist at BAE Systems' Advanced Technology Centre in Bristol, said: "We wanted to mimic this ability.

"We have made a small amount of this material and we have demonstrated that it will stick on glass surfaces to demonstrate that it's got some potential.

"We have demonstrated we can do multiple attachments with this material - you can stick it down once and stick it down again. Having a Spiderman glove is a long way down the road, but in principle, you might have something like that."

(Source: Ananova, 26 July 2006)

Hah, take that everyone who comments on hairy, sticky palms as a bad thing. Speaking of sticky, today hundreds of Brits have been taking matters in to their own hands and shook their fist in righteousness against both tabooness and in favour of public awareness on health issues.

The pleasure is all mine

MORE than 250 people pleasured themselves for charity today in Britain’s first “Masturbate-athon”.

Participants from all over the UK queued outside a converted photographic studio in Clerkenwell, central London, to take part in the controversial event.

Organised with the help of sexual health agency Marie Stopes International, the event aimed to raise awareness of safe sex.

Event organiser Tony Kerridge had expected the event to attract protesters.

But he was relieved when only one peaceful campaigner, armed with a small placard, arrived.

Participant Neil Crawforth, 28, left his wife at their home in Cambridge while he came to do his bit for charity.

“I’m not a good swimmer and I can’t run very far, but this is something I can do for charity,” the software engineer said.

Mr Crawforth said he had managed to raise £50 through sponsorship - money that will go towards sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust.

Mr Crawforth, who described himself as “shy”, added: “I do not like to talk to people very much, but I compensate by being an exhibitionist.”

Filmed by Channel Four as part of a series of shows dubbed Wank Week, the Masturbate-athon is the first event of its kind in Europe having been exported from the US.

Protester Matthew Bull, 34, said: “I’m offended by the whole thing, not the act itself, but it being such a public event.

“As an Islington resident, I was not asked whether I wanted this in my backyard. I feel it is wrong and should not be accepted.”

Participant Hal Musazlioglus disagreed. He said: “It is masturbating for a good cause. It’s a fun thing to do and isn’t hurting anyone. We are not doing it in front of anyone. It is in a building.”

Inside, there were a number of rooms. Each decked out with comfy Moroccan-style cushions. There were separate areas for men and women, a mixed room and an exhibition area for those who didn’t mind being filmed.

Page 3 girl and pornography star Rebecca Smyth, 26, positioned herself in the exhibition room.

She said: “It is not that unusual for me to do this. I’m not nervous about it at all.”

Organisers hope the event will stamp out the “Tabooness” of the subject of masturbation and encourage young people to use it as an alternative to unprotected sex.

Mr Kerridge added: “With penetrative sex, if it is unprotected we have the risk of STDs, unwanted pregnancies and most worrying AIDS.

“We want to get the public talking about masturbation as one of several alternatives to penetrative sex.”

(Source: The Sun Online, 05 August 2006)

Well done boys and girls. Shaken hands and pats on the backs all round...well, after rinsing of course. Hey, we're back to Cillit Bang again.

A second early morning on the trot for me, whereas yesterday was to get work finished before Si and Jaqs got in and I spent time going over my application for the Planning Inspectorate with Si, today was a test for myself to make sure that if I got the job I'm after I could get there in time - it also meant I could hand deliver my application to the office.

So, with my not-so-modest report and Si's ego-boosting comments in a sealed brown envelope, I headed off with Tim to get the early direct train to Bristol. On arriving at the station and seeing the crowd, I decided that I proved I could make it to Bristol on time, and opted to get on the slower train out of comfort and restart the timing when I got to Bristol.

We got up to Bristol at about 09:10 and headed from Temple Meads station to Temple Quay, a fair walk on Multimap, barely five minutes when you just cut through the car park and past Starbucks. Temple Quay is a nice area, which as the name suggests is next to the river. There is a nice sandwich shop, Smile co-operative, Starbucks and a Wetherspoons underneath the Planning Inspectorate building.

The office itself was a stark contrast to our Governmental buildings, whereas we dwell in concrete shells from the '60s in a vast selection of yellow, grey and pebble-dash exterior with bland interiors, the PI was large brick and glass, with automatic revolving doors and marble tiles on the floor. Reception and Security were actually helpful.

I dropped my application off and left, duty done and ready to tour Bristol. Unfortunately, my camera lacking a flash was incapable of handling the glory of the PI building, the river ferry stop (like a bus stop, only...wetter) or the interesting Temple Quay footbridge which curves in an S-shape across the river (though it's available here : Above and Below).

Went around to Forbidden Planet and proudly never opened my wallet, though I patted it a few times. Their comic stock is mostly graphic novels and trade paperbacks, though their manga collection and DVDs has taken off greatly. Their range of plushy Cthulhu is still fairly good, though Cthulhu Presley seems to be over-stocked. It became obvious I've been reading Ghastly's Ghastly Comic and listening to Redoubt and the Podcasts when my brain automatically read the title "50 Rules for Tentacles" instead of "Teenagers". I was most amused at the poor inflatable Dalek in the window though, who was unfortunately either not blown up enough or was beginning to leak, because his plunger stalk had gone limp - though I understand this is quite common in the older generation.

I was further amused in my tour of Bristol in the mens' toilet of The Galleries, when written on the back of a door was a poster for Poker with the easily readable heading text "What Are You Holding In Your Hand? Could It Be Used To Intimidate Others?", if only it had been placed over the urinal, hilarity would occur.

We carried on to Pizza Hut for lunch, which was very nice and quiet when we arrived. On finishing we headed back to Weston and home.

I read the entire archive of Ozy and Millie, I have been snickering throughout. I have a love of webcomics, and cute anthromorphics as children with an air of Calvin and Hobbes is enough to have me smirking inanely for hours.

Taking a break from Guild Wars - I'm level 8 and think I'm almost done with all the quests in Pre-Searing that can be soloed, the biggest quest now will be grabbing a breakdancing nudist and dragging them to a team mission.

In the meantime I read back some old Batman storylines, notably Vengeance of Bane and Knightfall, I really regret it now because I have the desire again to stab out the eyes of whoever thought up the movie version of Bane in Batman and Robin. I mean in the two films they changed the origins slightly of the villains, but not really changed the characters that much, but as soon as that was over characters became wasteful, eager to improve on the quantity of the previous films without much thought on the quality. For example :

• Two-Face is an excellent villain, despite managing to change ethnicity in the movies, but he becomes a second stringer whereas he had a great starting point in The Long Halloween.
• Poison Ivy became little more than a reflection on the types of villain from the Adam West series, whereas there are plenty of stories that show her more than able to pose a threat on her own.
• Bane, crippled Batman in the Knightfall saga, leaving him broken and in a wheelchair, he had intellect and strategy as well as drug-enhanced strength. In the movie he was a brainless, brutish slave.

I do think it's a shame that they killed off Joker in the first Burton movie, but would have feared a sequel, though seeing as there are meant to be hints at the end of Batman Begins for a sequel I'll get the chance.

Not that I have seen Batman Begins yet, however, I think I've appreciated more than some that this isn't actually a prequel as much as it is an attempt to re-start the movie series again (Ultimates style, if you will). Despite that, from what I have seen the evolution exists, the Batmobile isn't elegant as obviously Wayne hasn't got WayneTech to research things for the business which he can use in his private affairs, however it bears the manoeuvrability and defence that would be expected (as well as keeping the bat look from above and other key features it shares with later models, if you know what you are looking for). I'm itching to see it myself though.

I'm going to go into geek mode and make a full and frank confession of my purchasing habits of the last several years, some of you know of my 'habits' but not everyone and not to the degree.

My name is Guise and I have a comic addiction.

Except it's not really an addiction and it's not that major. Compared to many I actually have only a teeny collection - around about 2500 to 3000 comics - and it's nearly all modern and mainstream. It's also quite restricted to certain themes :

• I love dark anti-heroes, such as John Constantine (Hellblazer), Jesse Custer (Preacher) and the like. Constantine was my first real 'I must have all of this' collection, a drive built on desire of a British character who gets dragged into things, gets his friends killed, pisses everyone and thing off and still has the ability to make a sarcastic quip and smirk as he sticks a finger to the devil.
  
• I have a soft spot for any super-heroes who are 'normal' apart from the tech and skills, such as Batman and to a lesser extent Green Arrow and Iron Man
  
• I love things that I, or even Tim, grew up with and have a fair collection of the newer Transformers mythos, GI Joe, Battle of the Planets, Voltron, BattleTech, He-Man and ThunderCats
  
• Certain 'mutant' characters take my interest for their personalities, such as Gambit, Nightcrwaler, Wolverine and Kitty Pryde. Any story with Mr. Sinister or Apocalypse usually grabs my attention too
  
• I have a lot of 'kid hero' comics, such as Generation X, and almost full run of New Mutants (v1) and Power Pack
  
• I have a lot of movie/game tie-ins, like Aliens, Predator, RoboCop, Tomb Raider and Terminator, as well as the crossover series. I have two copies of the issue of Tomb Raider with a fighting Lara in schoolgirl outfit - but that's a different confession in the making.
  
• I enjoy Judge Dredd, it's vision of the future and the power of law enforcement in that reality
  
• I despise Superman and his ilk, the uber-powerful are just too damn good and I like my heroes to get the crap beat out of them

I go into detail about how I collect a lot of stuff for the 'look and feel', and describe why I love those things - particularly the Gotham City look of 1940s vehicles, gothic architecture and the amazing buildings built into statues, with all the modern technology involved in the series it's a look that would be anachronistic if it was in the past, but as it is present then it's an effect that just adds to the gritty feel of the comic.

I have sites on 1940s big fendered and runner-boarded cars and gothic looking buildings stored in specific folders in my browser's favourite places, and have on several occasions thought of making an artificial web area of Gotham feel - saved only by the willpower to never ever be that geeky.

I have a firm desire to replace individual comics with trade paper backs, to ensure that I'm not missing anything in crossover stories and to tidy the collection into better chunks.

I have the cartoon Batman : Mask of the Phantasm, as well as Justice League Unlimited highlighted for viewing tonight, and have the Generation X movie on video just itching to be rewatched.

For my own safety and sanity, I have yet to watch Batman Begins, Sin City and Constantine, and I'm trying to block out desires to watch Fantastic Four when it comes out.